How would you describe us?
by missmerrymak
Summary: The team's relationship has become especially distant and strained lately. Can one young woman teach the dysfunctional team what being a family really means?
1. Chapter 1

A normal day at the office would be the understatement of the century. The case Gibbs and his team had been investigating backfired in their face. A petty officer was found dead on a marine base. Knife wound to the chest with DNA under the victim's finger nails and a large motive seeing as his recent gambling winnings were just fewer than seven million dollars. Simple enough right? Actually, the man who Gibbs and his team knew for a fact had killed the unfortunate petty officer is a powerful man in an organized crime ring so secret that the CIA barely knows about it. So now the whole team is on high alert, ready to respond to their imminent death threats. There was no joking going on in the usually happy and light bull pen which was home to Special Agents Gibbs, McGee, DiNozzo and David. All that was happening was work. They had been tracking the man's whereabouts for the past three day's non-stop and were running on coffee and the occasional cheap sandwich from the small cafeteria on a lower floor of the NCIS building.

They were stuck. The man named Antonio Barrinelli had fallen off the face of the earth. No one could track him and his last known whereabouts were in DC. The Director of NCIS: Jennifer Shepard or Jenny for short because she despised being called Jennifer, was up in her office trying to find the right paperwork for Gibbs to get a warrant. They needed to search Barrinelli's current house for anything but all the papers seemed to have slipped through her fingers. Frustrated and exhausted she sent five pieces of incorrectly printed documents across the room. It made her feel a little better, but not much knowing she would just have to go pick them up again. She sighed and rested her head in her hands. Despite being known for her fiery red hair that went along with her fiery temper she rarely showed her emotions. Suddenly Gibbs burst into the room and her head shot up in surprise. "Jethro you scared me!" She exclaimed before adjusting herself into a more "Director like" position unlike the hunched over and barely awake one she was sporting just a moment ago. He just gave a little nod of his head before voicing what was on his mind.

"You have that warrant yet?" He asked gruffly like always. She shook her head. She almost apologized for the mistake but remembered how he felt about apologizes and decided against it.

"The papers seemed to not be printing right and you know how particular those judges are. One thing off and they'll just send you back." She said and he grunted in agreement looking as tired as she was under those cobalt blue eyes of his that really never seemed to dull.

"Okay well tell me when you do." He said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. Not a moment later her phone rang and she picked it up quickly masking the exhaustion in her voice.

"Shepard."

"Hello I was just calling to remind you that the class will be there tomorrow at nine am." The woman on the other end said in a voice that indicated she made these calls every day and was not too thrilled to be doing so. For a moment Jenny's mind went blank and she panicked. But then after searching her mind she remembered the Georgetown college class was taking a tour of NCIS tomorrow and cursed under her breath.

"I don't think tomorrow would be a good time. Really, we're in the middle of a very high profile case and I don't want to put your students in harm's way." She said also remembering that a certain number of agents will be receiving students that will tag along for the day.

"Director Shepard with all due respect you have had to reschedule this trip five times now and I think that our students can handle this. They're all studying criminology and can handle any situation you could possibly throw at them." She said angrily defending her students.

"Fine but they're not going out in the field. They can help my agents with our investigation and down in the lab but leave the field work to the people who are actually trained to do these things." The Director said patiently. She heard the woman on the other end write something down and flip a page.

"That will be fine. So we'll see you tomorrow?" She asked once more.

"Yes you will see us tomorrow." Jenny said before the line went dead. As she put down the phone Jenny said some things to that woman that a director should never say out loud.

The afternoon went by slowly with nothing more to do than wait to see team Gibbs's findings she signed case report after case report. Suddenly Gibbs came busting through her door. "You have the warrant Jen?" He asked quickly.

"What did you find?" She asked thankful for the distraction. He sighed and answered.

"We found a possible location. We're going to go check it out."

"Without a warrant?"

"No we'll have a warrant in a second."

"But this warrant isn't for a 'possible location' Jethro. This is for searching his house." Jenny explained patiently and Gibbs sighed again.

"Jen do you have the warrant or not?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"You were going to go on that raid without a warrant weren't you?" He looked exasperated but didn't say anything. "Jethro that is one of the most idiotic things you have ever done!" She exclaimed angrily, her brow furrowing.

"Haven't done it yet Jen." He said searching her desk for the warrant he desperately needed.

"But you were going to weren't you?" She asked.

"Jenny, warrant." He said getting angry. She scoffed.

"Just try not to get yourself killed please Jethro." She sighed admitting defeat, normally something she wouldn't have done but seeing as she was extremely tired and mentally exhausted from the case she let it slide and handed him the warrant.

"Thank you." He said grabbing it and walking out the door. An argument with Jethro was something she didn't want to be in right now. But the stress of the case and of the impending field trip of the college students did not make that any easier to avoid.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Jenny had just came back from a meeting in MTAC and sat in her office finishing off the unsigned case reports from the other night. Impatiently she checked her watch. She swore if this stress continued she would have to start dying her hair. It was only 0800. So she decided to head down to the bull pen to see what her team had accomplished this morning. And sure enough the MRCT team was sitting glued to their computers trying to find any new leads as she entered Gibbs's territory. They looked up and spotted her. "Found any new leads yet?" She asked looking around the silent group. Tony finally spoke up.

"Kind of. We followed his bank records and according to this pattern he'll be making another deposit in his bank tonight at nine. The problem is we don't have enough to take him down yet so the worst we could do was bring him in for questioning." He said and Jenny took a deep breath. Her morning was not going as well as she planned.

"That's all?" She asked almost patronizingly.

"Yes that is all Director, we have been working hard all night to get this information!" A tired looking Ziva exclaimed.

"Well I just thought if you had been working all night you would have gotten more!" Jenny shot back politely. Ziva was about to yell something nasty at Jenny but McGee spoke up.

"Ziva drop it. It's not worth it." He reminded her and she glanced at him angrily but quickly calmed down seeing the look of disappointment on Tim's face. Just then Gibbs walked out of the elevator with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand and saw Jenny arguing with his team about who knows what. It's not like this was the first time this had happened.

"Director." Gibbs said addressing her as he walked past her to his desk.

"Gibbs I came to remind you that the Georgetown college class will be here in an hour." She said causing everybody's head to shoot up again at her.

"What?" He said annoyed.

"They'll be here all day and will be assigned an agent to spend the day with after a tour." She stated glancing at the whole team before settling on Gibbs himself.

"We're in the middle of a case!" He protested but Jenny stopped him.

"I know Agent Gibbs I tried to tell them that but they wouldn't listen so deal with it!" She said and walked briskly back up to her office where she notified the rest of the staff again.

Nine o'clock came around all too fast and soon the class was standing outside the NCIS building. They weren't too thrilled to go through so much security and get visitor passes but it had to be done so nobody was complaining. Their teacher was a peppy woman with only a few years of teaching under her belt. She made everything seem too happy and everybody made fun of her behind her back but they went on this with her because they were interested enough in Criminology to endure a whole entire day with the most awful teacher in the school. Instead of taking the elevator Ms. Florence made them walk the stairs, another reason they disliked the woman. Finally they got up to the correct floor, the squad rooms as it was amply named. The students were transfixed as teams underwent their normal routines and ignored the gawking college students.

Cynthia buzzed Jenny indicating that the students were here and Jenny thanked her before leaving her office and watching for a moment on the catwalk. They were mesmerized and she smiled slightly for a moment before walking down the stairs. The teacher was already explaining the bull pens to the students in a wide eyed manor that made Jenny think she was teaching to kindergarteners and not college students. Jenny approached the class and the teacher turned to face her smiling and held out her hand. "I take it you're the Director?" She asked happily and Jenny took her hand.

"Yes I am. Jenny Shepard." She responded politely.

"Anna Florence." She said and turned back to her students. "Class this is the first female director of a federal agency: Jenny Shepard. She'll be giving you the tour today." She practically shouted that not only got the attention of her class but of Gibbs's team and she could feel their eyes on her, including Gibbs's. She wanted to punch him in the face for staring at her like that but refrained. When Ms. Florence said Jenny Shepard one young woman's eyes shot up from her phone she was trying to hide to the fiery red headed Director. Could it be? "Hey Lily the Director has the same last name as you." Jack whispered to her smiling and nudging the red head's shoulder. She glared at him. The same stare her mother had that could make the toughest man cower in fear. He backed away seeing her face and she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you captain obvious!" She whispered back sarcastically. The tour had just begun and they started walking together. The director was explaining something about the tech rooms but Lily wasn't listening. She was more interested in studying every inch of the woman she hadn't seen in years. She looked so different. But then again the last time she had seen her aunt, Jenny was sixteen years younger. And Lily didn't really remember her aunt because the last time she had seen her, Lily was only five. All she sees is pictures and videos of a smiling and laughing aunt and a giggling five year old. So now to see her aunt like this is surreal so much in fact that she was practically gawking. Jack noticed and smiled.

"You got a thing for the Director of NCIS?" He grinned like a little school boy and nudged her. Angrily she shoved him off.

"Shut up Jack I want to hear this." She whispered and turned away from him actually focusing on what her aunt was saying and found it quite interesting. After a while she got lost in the tour and was fascinated by everything the Director had to teach her. The _Director_! Her aunt, the director of an armed federal agency! Who would have thought? And why didn't her mother tell her this?! The tour ended too soon for her but they gathered in a large room with desks of all things and Director Shepard told them to take a seat. They did and Ms. Florence and her aunt sat at the front of the room.

"Okay now we are going to have a short Q&A before lunch." Ms. Florence shouted and Lily could see Jenny flinching from the level of her voice. Hands shot up immediately and Lily patiently listened to their questions while watching her aunt the whole time.

Jenny had been scanning the crowd as she answered questions but didn't notice anything unusual. She didn't really look at the people though; she just kind of scanned them vaguely. About an even mix of blondes, brunettes, redheads and one purple haired young woman. Then one interesting question came up by a young man by the name of Jack.

"So Director I understand that your last name is Shepard?" The cheeky boy asked and Jenny chuckled.

"Yes it is."

"So maybe you know my friend Lily Shepard." He said pointing to the red head next to him who was blushing five shades of red and punching Jack's arm. Jenny tensed and stared at the girl. _That's my niece. _She thought but was still shocked. _She's in college already good Lord! _Realizing Jenny had missed all of her nieces childhood made her angry and brought up bitter memories of her sister.

"Um…" She was about to make up some lie knowing Lily's mother would not appreciate press bombarding her door though she was tempted to just irritate her sister beyond belief. But her phone rang and she excused herself to answer it. While Jenny was on the phone trying to calm her rapid heart rate Ms. Florence announced loudly that lunch would be held right now and the students filed out of the room and eventually to the NCIS lawn where they would have a picnic of sorts.

Soon Jenny got off the phone with the SecNav and rushed back inside to find them all gone. With a curse she walked briskly to Cynthia to ask where they are. "Look out your window Ma'am." She said sporting a small smile and confused she did. Letting out a small sigh and smiling she saw the students set out on the lawn with their lunches. She spotted Lily sitting with the boy Jack who asked the question about them being related and smiled. But quickly that was replaced with memories of her sister and a look of anger mixed with disgust filled her face. Jenny needed to talk to Lily about so many things. And Lily was dying to see her aunt again but an unspoken tension settled uncomfortably between the two even though they hadn't even made eye contact yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Jenny to, had gone out for lunch and when she came back the students were just finishing up their lunch. So she rounded them all up and they followed her back into the NCIS building. They stood around her anxiously and she tried her hardest not to make eye contact with Lily but it was getting hard as she noticed Lily's eyes bearing into her head. From her pocket she brought out the pre-assigned list as to what students will be assigned to what agent. As she cleared her throat all the agents on the floor were also staring at her. Gibbs in particular she noticed was glaring at her menacingly. She fought the urges she had to wipe that look from his face with a well-placed slap but refrained. "As you all probably know each student will be assigned a team or one of our other specialists in the building. I will read off the list and you will step forward, your agent will flag you down." She said and started reading off the list. Lily and Jack were waiting anxiously for their assignment and were gripping each other's hands rather tightly. She called Jack's name and he gripped her hand tighter before stepping forward so he was in front of Jenny. "Jack Anderson with Abigail Scuito." She said and he smiled despite not knowing who it was. Lily was happy for him but she was also on edge waiting for her name to be called. Finally she was one of the last people to be called. "Lily S with Gibbs and his team." She said hesitantly and reread it as if to make sure she said it right. She had. Jenny cursed the fates. How had she gotten stuck with such bad luck? Jenny and Lily shared a look that made both their hearts jump and at the same time shared a small and silent conversation. Jenny didn't want it being known that Lily was her niece. At least not yet, and Lily respected that. So when DiNozzo flagged her down she tore her stare away from her aunt and went to greet her team for the day. Jenny plastered on a smile and finished the remaining people on the list before walking over to Gibbs's team and confronting them.

"Director." Tony greeted and she nodded in return but her attention was focused on Lily.

"You don't mind if I borrow Lily for a moment?" She asked Gibbs politely but he just nodded. Quickly Jenny grabbed Lily by the arm and spun on her heel Lily close behind as they walked up to her office.

"Ooohhh somebody's in trouble!" Tony exclaimed and Ziva scoffed.

"Tony just because she went up to the Director's office does not mean she is in trouble." Ziva said and sat back down at her desk.

"Did anybody else notice that the Director never said Lily's last name?" Tim asked hesitantly and Tony and Ziva glanced at each other before looking at McGee.

"Probie's right. I smell a conspiracy." Tony exclaimed and Gibbs tried to ignore their childish suspicions.

Lily was on Jenny's heel as she walked briskly into her office shutting the door behind her. Lily sighed and placed her hands on her hips as her aunt turned around slowly; a small smile spreading across her face. Lily couldn't help it; she smiled too and started laughing. Jenny's smile turned into a full blown grin and she held her arms out to her niece who gladly walked into the warm embrace. Lily sighed lightly enjoying the feeling of being in her aunts arms again and smelling her oh so familiar perfume. Jenny rubbed her nieces back soothingly and placed her hand on the back of Lily's head playing lightly with her hair. It was a feeling she honestly never thought she would feel again and knew she would never take it for granted again. They finally broke apart rather reluctantly and looked at each other. Jenny cupped Lily's face in her hands and looked at her. Really looked at her since she was five. It shocked her how much she had grown. Jenny tried not to think of how much of her childhood she had missed but focused on the present. "You darling, are a beautiful young woman." Jenny said looking in Lily's eyes. Lily blushed and smiled.

"Thank you. Aunt Jenny I didn't know you were the Director! Let alone worked in a federal agency I didn't even know what you did for a living. Mom never told me anything…" Jenny cut her off harshly her eyes growing cold and her mask up again. Lily noticed the change and shut up.

"I don't want to talk about your mother Lillian." Jenny said coldly then realized how angry she sounded and softened up. "Let's just go back downstairs and we'll talk later." She said forcing a smile. Lily was shocked by her outburst. What had happened between the two? But Lily didn't inquire and nodded as they walked towards the door. "Oh and Lily let's keep the whole being related thing on the down low." She said and Lily nodded not understanding why but complying obediently. They walked back down the stairs to the bull pen where Gibbs and the team were waiting.

"I don't think we were properly introduced." Lily said smiling as she held her hand out to Gibbs. He smiled and took her hand. "Lily."

"Gibbs." He said a smile teasing his lips.

"Just Gibbs?" She questioned raising an eyebrow skeptically. It reminded him of a certain red head staring at him in ridiculously high heels.

"Just Lily?" He asked, silently answering her question. She lowered her eyebrow not answering his question and smirked before turning to a brown haired dark skinned woman. They shook hands.

"Ziva David."

"Israeli?" Lily asked but it was more like a statement with her vast history of languages and world culture. What gave it away was her accent and Star of David pendant around her neck.

"Very good! You speak Hebrew?" Ziva asked mildly surprised.

"Yes. Well sort of… I'm still learning. But I have been to Israel. One of my college classes funded a trip; we were there for two weeks." A look of pure shock crossed Jenny's face before once again the mask was up. But it was down long enough for Gibbs to catch. It took all of Jenny's willpower not to call Lily's mother right now and scream in her face. How could she let her baby go to Israel… alone?!

"_I'm impressed, it is a hard language." _Ziva said in Hebrew.

"_Very difficult." _Lily said back laughing. Ziva smiled and Lily turned away from her to meet a light brown/blonde haired man with his hair swept fashionably to the side.

"Tim McGee." She nodded and smiled addressing him and then turning to the last man with spiky brown hair and a smug look on his face. They shook hands.

"Very special agent Anthony DiNozzo." He smiled cheekily and Jenny could see the certain look in DiNozzo's eyes and wanted to slap him into next Wednesday for even thinking anything like that about her niece. But that would mean letting people know Lily was her niece. So gritting her teeth she refrained, but just barely.

"Well since my schedule is free today I think I'll stay here and monitor the case." Jenny said triumphantly. She wasn't leaving her niece alone with DiNozzo for a second. Gibbs glared at her. "Don't give me that look Jethro I am the Director and I can stay here if I want to." She said smugly. Lily stifled a laugh. Jethro, _that's _his name? Jethro Gibbs?

The team had nothing and it had been two hours after the students were assigned to agents. "Uhhhhgg." Tony moaned. "What time is it?" He groaned. Ziva checked her watch.

"It is only 1400 Tony. Do some work." She shot at him.

"I'm trying but this guy is good. He didn't leave a trail." Tony said angrily. Suddenly Gibbs came waltzing in with a cup of empty coffee which he threw in the trash.

"Grab your gear. We gotta lead." He said and everybody sprang up including Lily but Jenny quickly stopped her.

"Woah hold up there sport. _You _are not going anywhere." Jenny said standing up from Gibbs's desk.

"Aw come on! I can handle it!" She exclaimed squirming in Jenny's grasp.

"No." Jenny said firmly and Lily relaxed, defeated. Gibbs watched the whole interaction with interest before his team followed him briskly to the elevator. Once they were gone Jenny turned to Lily. "Let's get some coffee." She said smiling and so they did, going to Jenny's favorite café. They sat down and ordered coffee. The two started catching up on all the lost years between them and Jenny was just happy watching her little girl become a woman.

"You know Aunt Jenny I've told you all about my not so interesting life so far, what about yours?" Jenny shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"I want to know everything! I still can't believe you're the Director of an armed federal agency!" She exclaimed punching Jenny's arm playfully. Jenny chuckled.

"It was a long and bumpy road kid. This is a men's game Lily. Every time I'm up on the hill all they do is stare at my ass all day. I wouldn't be surprised if they never hear a word I say." She said jokingly but they both knew that behind that joking manor was truth.

"I still can't believe that _my _aunt is the first female Director of a federal agency!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Jenny smiled.

"Any other questions miss nosey?" She joked. Sheepishly Lily sipped her coffee which had lots of cream in it. Jenny gaged just thinking about it.

"What happened between you and my mom?" Jenny tried to avoid her but Lily cut her off. "What could possibly be bad enough for me not to know my aunt for over a decade?" Lily looked almost heartbroken and Jenny sighed.

"Why do we have to talk about this right now Lily? It doesn't involve you and it's not important right now. Just let it go." Jenny said exasperated as her phone started to ring. She picked it up and answered it still looking at Lily coldly. "Shepard."

"_Jen where are you we got a case here!" _Gibbs said over the phone.

"You have a lead?"

"_Yeah we do. Barrinelli killed again and this time he left something for us." _Gibbs said and Jenny heard a car door slam and a gun being cocked.

"Jethro what's going on are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"_I'm fine Jenny would you calm down. I gotta go I'll meet you back in the bull pen." _He said before hearing a gun shot and the line went dead. She scoffed and slammed her phone shut.

"Jackass." She muttered under her breath but Lily caught it. Gibbs seems to take pleasure in making Jenny fear for him though she would never admit it and Jenny hated him for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own anything except for Lily.**

After having a relatively quiet coffee break the two redheads walked back to NCIS which was only a block away. "I didn't know you drink coffee." Jenny said lamely and Lily laughed.

"Of course you didn't Jenny I was five last time you saw me." She said smiling at her aunt.

"Don't remind me." She said shaking her head and wrapping her arm around her niece.

"Do you usually stick around during cases?" Lily asks curiously. "I always thought the director's job was only politics and paperwork." She looked at her aunt who was smiling.

"I stick around for cases when one of my agents is checking out my niece." She says laughing and Lily turns a dark shade of red as they open the doors to the building and unhook their arms from each other's waists.

"Was not." She mumbled under her breath but Jenny just eyed her suspiciously before waving off the security guards telling them Lily was with her. When they got back to the bull pen Jenny was surprised not to see Gibbs or his team in. Furrowing her brow she walked up to her office with Lily trailing behind now not having a team to shadow anymore. Jenny quickly walked up to her assistant.

"Cynthia where is Gibbs and his team? Lily's having trouble shadowing without a team." She said and half smiling. Cynthia looked up.

"They're at the crime scene and from what I have been told Gibbs got shot and Agent McGee is getting stiches right now." Jenny's eye's widened and Lily immediately feared for the team she only briefly met because of the frightened look in her aunt's eyes.

"Where are they?" She asked curtly and Cynthia flipped a page in her binder before trailing her finger along the piece of paper and stopping abruptly in the middle.

"Bethesda." She said and Jenny thanked her before pulling Lily out of the office and down the steps. They stepped into the elevator in silence and Jenny pushed a button angrily. She was angry and worried but mostly angry. _Calling her right before he went into a shootout! What the hell was he thinking? _Even she knew better than that and she hadn't been in the field in eight years! Lily didn't say a word seeing the furious expression on her aunt's face. The elevator dinged and Jenny walked at an alarming speed considering how high her heels are, out of the elevator. Lily followed quickly and loud music hit her ears and it shocked her for a moment. Where were they? But it didn't seem to faze Jenny so Lily quickly collected herself and followed her aunt into a lab. _This must be the forensic scientist Jack was assigned to. _She thought happily. But what were they doing there. They walked in and Jack was sitting on a stool while a woman paced the room. She wore all black with black platform boots and black hair in pigtails. Her bangs were perfectly hitting just above her arched eyebrows that showed the worry on her face. The Goth woman's white lab coat was flying past her as she briskly walked from wall to wall. "Abby!" Jenny yelled and Abby turned to see the Director and a younger red head standing in the room. Quickly Abby ran the Director and engulfed her in the infamous airway constricting hug she did so well. Jenny hugged her back but quickly ran out of oxygen and tapped her back. "Abby I can't breathe."

"Sorry Director." She said pulling back.

"Can you turn down the music Abs?" Jenny yelled over the blaring metal. She did as she was told and turned back to their fearless Director. "I take it you heard about Gibbs and McGee." Jenny said gently and Abby burst out rambling. In the commotion Lily had walked over to Jack and they were watching the conversation with interest.

"Oh my Gosh I know! Gibbs and McGee never get hurt Director. McGee he just can't get hurt! I don't know what would happen if he did! And Gibbs, Gibbs doesn't go to a hospital unless he's dying and even then he doesn't go! Oh my God is Gibbs dying?!" Abby said frantically.

"Abby calm down neither of them are dying. I'm going to Bethesda now but I need you to do me a favor." She said looking into Abby's eyes.

"Of course anything Jenny. I mean um, Director… ma'am." She said stumbling knowing Jenny wanted to be called Director in the office. It meant she didn't show favorites. Jenny smiled shyly.

"Can you watch Lily while I'm gone? She was supposed to shadow Gibbs's team today and obviously that's not going to happen." She said but before Abby could respond Lily stepped in angrily.

"What? No I want to come with you!" She exclaimed shocking everyone in the room. Jack and Abby would never act that way towards the Director of a federal agency but Lily was different.

"No you are staying here. I'm not having you come to the hospital with me!" Jenny said trying to protect her niece from an injured team and a gruesome crime scene.

"I'm not a child! I think I can handle a crime scene!" She said reading Jenny's mind. "And if I come with you I can at least spend a little time with my team!" She exclaimed and Jenny couldn't help but let a small smile play on her lips. Jenny's unnerving stubbornness had been inherited she saw. Abby and Jack watched the two argue with a growing interest. Students and Director's that just met today don't act towards each other the way these two are. It caught the attention of them and a smile played on Abby's lips and she couldn't help but intervene.

"You two are related aren't you?" Abby asked a sly grin forming on her face. They look enough alike. Jenny and Lily's heads shot from each other to Abby in an instant. Jenny stuttered for a moment and sighed knowing they were going to find out eventually anyway.

"Yes, Abby this is my niece Lily Shepard." Jenny said introducing her and Abby grinned and squealed before wrapping Lily in an enormous hug. Jack stood shocked and Lily mouthed an apologetic 'sorry' to him before oxygen became necessary.

"Can't breathe." She choked out and Abby reluctantly let go of her.

"Oh my God I can't believe it! Why didn't you tell us before?" Abby exclaimed looking to Jenny for an explanation. Jenny shifted uncomfortably before Lily answered bluntly.

"My aunt and my mom aren't exactly on speaking terms." Lily said quietly and Abby nodded.

"Well I should be going." Jenny said breaking the ever growing tension in the room.

"I'm coming with." Lily said before Jenny could scoot out the door.

"Fine." Jenny said sighing and rubbing her forehead. "Abby I'll see you later." Jenny said before following Lily into the elevator. Once they were gone Abby squealed again making Jack smile.

"Did you know Lily was the Director's niece?!" She exclaimed.

"No I didn't even know she had an aunt!" Jack exclaimed but underneath was sadness. Why hadn't Lily told him? They were tighter than tight.

Jenny and Lily arrived at the hospital ten minutes later. They got out and walked to the reception desk. "We're looking for Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Tim McGee." Jenny said and Lily couldn't stifle a laugh. _Leroy Jethro_! _Oh my Gosh this is too good!_ She thought and it got her an elbow in the ribs. She shut up after that.

"Name." the woman said sounding extremely bored.

"Jenny Shepard I'm the Director of NCIS." She said and the receptionist nodded.

"They're in room 237." The older woman said and Jenny thanked her before the pair of redheads walked to the elevator. If anyone saw the two they would be surprised at how alike they are. They even had the same brisk walking fashion that meant business. Finally they found room 237 and walked in. McGee was talking to a doctor about what seemed to be cream for his stiches and a doctor with tweezers was poking around in Gibbs's bleeding arm.

"Are you two okay?" Jenny asked looking them both over alerting them to her presence. But the presence they were really shocked at was the college age red head with the Director.

"I'm fine. My stiches are done so I'm going to head back to the crime scene." McGee said excusing himself. Jenny nodded but stopped him abruptly just before he squeezed past the two red heads.

"McGee, take it easy okay?"

"Will do Director." He said smiling and nodded to Lily before walking out the door. Jenny swung her head back to Gibbs angrily.

"Jethro are you insane?! Calling me before heading into a damn firefight!" She said angrily and waving her arm in the air for a dramatic effect. Gibbs yelped out in pain as the tweezers were inserted into the bullet wound in his arm.

"I didn't know it was going to be a firefight until it happened Jen!" He shot back through the pain as the doctor yanked out the bullet and Gibbs groaned loudly. Lily raised an eyebrow. _Jen_, _he calls her Jen… interesting. _She thinks and Jenny scoffs.

"Yeah you sure didn't know when your gun was loaded and firing when you called me!" She said angrily walking up to him despite the fact the doctor was washing the blood off his arm and placing gauze over the bullet wound and Gibbs was eyeing her angrily.

"I was just informing you on our progress!"

"And got McGee hurt too in the process!" She yelled finally taking her voice to another level. The doctor angrily shushed her and she turned slightly red in the face. Gibbs sighed.

"Yeah that was my fault." He admitted.

"Damn right it was your fault!" She exclaimed but immediately realized her mistake seeing the guilt on Gibbs's face. She knew it was hard for him to admit that and she sighed but didn't say anything else. Suddenly Gibbs noticed the other red head standing close by.

"Lily." He acknowledged her.

"Gibbs." She replied coolly.

"What is she doing here?" Gibbs asked Jenny looking at her expectantly. Jenny sighed and shook her head as she rubbed her forehead not having an answer. Lily stepped in.

"I inherited her stubbornness." Lily smiled but Jenny shot her an angry look. Gibbs was confused. Were they related? Was it her kid? They sure did look alike now that he thought about it.

"My niece." Jenny answered his unasked question reading his mind. Something they had always been able to do. He nodded.

"That the reason you put her on my team?" He asked smugly giving her a small smile. Her face turned red.

"No Jethro the list was predetermined and not by me. If I had it my way she would be as far away from Tony as possible." Jenny laughed and Gibbs smiled.

"Yeah I saw that too. It will be earning him a headslap later." He smiled along with the two redheads. A small silence filled the room as the doctor left but Gibbs quickly filled it. "Is that why you were going to stay for the case?" He asked a sly grin forming on his lips. Jenny blushed again then scoffed.

"I wasn't leaving her with Tony! He was practically undressing her with his eyes!" Jenny exclaimed getting a laugh from Gibbs and Lily. Gibbs hopped down from the table and put his jacket back on.

"So why'd you come here Jen? Worried about me?" He said eyeing her with a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Don't push it gunny." She said quietly and turned on her heel walking out of the room with Lily close behind. Gibbs smiled and followed them out. A playful banter had settled between the agent and Director but how long could this possibly last with the danger and stress of the case and recent arrival of the Director's niece who at the moment was forming a rather devious plan in her head.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at NCIS the team had gone back to work. At least Ziva and Tony had. McGee was down with Abby because with his stiches and the medicine they gave him seeing a computer screen straight let alone differentiating keys on the keyboard was next to impossible. Jack was no doubt making fun of him. But that's just what he did. _DiNozzo and Jack would get along good._ Lily thought as she sat in the bull pen watching Tony tease Ziva and vice versa. She smiled thinking about Jack but was brought out of her daydream by Tony. "You've been pretty quiet kid. What's on your mind?" He asked with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. She threw a wad of paper at his face and Ziva snorted.

"At least I talk about more than women and movies." She shot back jokingly. Tony looked offended.

"At least I talk!" He exclaimed but was silenced by a forceful slap to the back of his head. Lily stifled a laugh as Tony cringed. "Getting back to work boss." Tony said quickly pulling something up on his computer. Lily thought she saw a ghost of a smile on Gibbs's lips but whatever she thought she saw disappeared quickly when she saw Gibbs coming up to her. His arm not in the sling that the doctors told him he should wear and the good arm holding a cup of coffee. He towered over her as she sat up as straight as she could in _his _desk. The team quickly busied themselves with something other than gawking at the overly confident young adult.

"Mr. Gibbs." She greeted sweetly.

"Miss Shepard." He said back and set his coffee down. "Out of my chair!" He exclaimed and she got up smugly and walked out of it not noticing the shocked looks from the team, Miss _Shepard_? Jenny was standing on the catwalk watching the whole interaction and was very proud of her niece. She was turning into a younger version of her. Even the way she acted around Gibbs was a spitting image of her. Memories flooded her mind of her days as 'Probie Jen' when she would stick up to Gibbs like that. She smiled. Then she saw the shocked expressions of the team when he said 'Miss Shepard'. Maybe now was her cue. She walked down the steps and to the bull pen meeting Lily on the edge. They stood next to each other their arms folded in the same manner and the team drank up all their similarities. Virtually they looked the same and it scared them a little.

"So what have you got?" Jenny asked the team who quickly stood and walked to the monitor in the middle of the room.

"We found his headquarters. It's in Santa Cruz, California." Tony said. You would have to be blind not to miss how both redheads stiffened and their relaxed positions looked forced. They ignored it for now.

"He seems to have an underground facility where he organizes everything. We think it's under the Navy Base there." Ziva added and now Jenny was the only one who looked ridged enough to snap. Gibbs furrowed his brow and grabbed Jenny's arm.

"Elevator." He whispered in her ear and dragged her along. Once the doors had closed he pushed the emergency stop and stared at her.

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"What was that?" He asks drilling holes into her with his eyes. But she didn't seem bothered by it. Jenny had been long immune to the 'Gibbs stare'.

"Don't look at me like that Jethro. Your stare has never worked on me." She stated triumphantly. Gibbs scoffed.

"Never worked? It used to scare you into place with Burley and Decker!" Gibbs exclaimed and Jenny glared at him. A fight was on the horizon.

"Well now is not the past agent Gibbs." She said coldly. Jenny didn't like to be reminded of her 'Probie' days with Gibbs. It brought up bitter sweet memories of Paris.

"Okay so let's talk about now then. What happened?" He asked softly trying to find her gaze.

"It doesn't matter it was stupid." Jenny said taking an interest in her shoes.

"If it has to do with the case then it's not stupid." He said and the comment stung Jenny. So everything else to him was stupid? She clenched her jaw and looked up at him.

"I guess I better go tell Lily that her family is stupid." Jenny said before angrily flipping the switch to the emergency stop and walking briskly out of the elevator leaving a confused Gibbs left to ponder what she had just said. Back in the bull pen Lily was curious. When her aunt came back Lily pulled her off to the side.

"Does he do that a lot?" She asked confused. It pulled a small smile onto Jenny's lips but it was gone just as fast as it appeared.

"Only when he needs to talk. It's the one place we have some privacy." She said and Lily just nodded her head and continued.

"What are we going to do?" Lily asked getting to the real point she pulled her aunt over.

"There's nothing we _can_ do Lil. I'm sure they'll be fine. We have nothing to worry about." Jenny said using Lily's nickname and it made her smile. But she couldn't shake the feeling that her aunt was unsure about her last statement. They walked back to the waiting bull pen.

"Director, may I ask a question on behalf of the whole team?" Ziva spoke up.

"Shoot." Jenny replied and though confused by the English idiom she took it as an invitation to speak so she did.

"Who is Lily, to you I mean?"

"Gibbs called her, Shepard." Tony spoke up and Gibbs watched curiously. Jenny sighed. She knew she would have to tell them eventually.

"Lily Shepard is my niece." The team was shocked. How come they had never known of her before? Why was the Director keeping her a secret? But none of them dared ask. Soon the team got back to work. Lily was watching Ziva, and Jenny was starting to get bored watching Gibbs do nothing. Well if you count trying and failing to figure out his email doing nothing. Suddenly he stood up and announced he was going for coffee. Jenny followed suit. Once Jenny and Gibbs were for sure out of the building Lily looked at Ziva maliciously and Ziva stared at her raising her eyebrows.

"Ziva." Lily said excitedly.

"Lily?"

"So what's the story?"

"On what?" Ziva asked confused.

"Jenny and Gibbs stupid." She said smiling. Her devious plan had begun. Ziva scoffed and laughed at the same time.

"_You_ child are too nosy!" Ziva said and saw the look of determination on Lily she saw on the Director. One that promises no defeat and no giving up. "It is none of your business." She added leaning in to Lily who narrowed her eyes at the Israeli threateningly.

"It's _my_ aunt who I haven't seen in years. Of course it's _my_ business!" She exclaimed quietly so the rest of the team wouldn't hear. She was trying to justify what she was planning to do. Ziva looked at her quizzically.

"What do you mean you have not seen her in years?" It was Lily's turn to look at her quizzically.

"She didn't tell you? I haven't seen Jenny since I was five." Lily said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ziva was confused though.

"The Director did not look very happy to see you. She looked very surprised actually." Ziva added reflectively.

"She didn't know I was coming and I didn't know she was here. And she was happy trust me. She was like _really_ really happy. She just didn't show it down here. See my aunt and my mom aren't exactly on speaking terms and no one really knows Jenny has a sister. Jenny would like to keep it that way." Lily explained and Ziva nodded. _It explained why she never talked about family or even mentioned it, _Ziva thought.

"Why does she want it kept a secret?" Ziva asked curiously. Now it was _her_ snooping into Jenny's private life and she wasn't exactly proud of it.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea. Jenny and my mom won't tell me." Lily said seriously. Ziva nodded again now slightly curious.

Gibbs and Jenny walked silently to the coffee shop they always went to and ordered their coffee. Sitting down at a table Jenny sighed. "What's up?" Gibbs asked before taking a sip of his scalding hot coffee.

"Nothing. Just the case it's long and annoying." Thankfully her head was down and she had taken an interest in her coffee cup so he didn't see her eye twitch.

"You sure?"

"Gibbs I am fine!" She exclaimed looking up at him angrily. He backed off.

"Okay."

"So have you gotten any leads on the case yet?" She asked lamely.

"Jen you've been with us all day." He was now a little worried. What could be bothering the stone cold Director?

"I know I've just been a little distracted." She sighed and he nodded.

"No leads." The conversation was awkward and small. They used to sit in coffee shops for hours and just talk and laugh. But now that was gone. She wished she could have those times back but then she would be reminded that they were different people now. They couldn't have those wonderful times back. Jenny knew Gibbs hated her for what she did and there was no going back. Little did she know that Gibbs wanted her back. More and more each day as he realized again how beautiful and amazing she is. But they both thought the other hated them, a bad combination.

"Jethro how could you say something like that to me?" Jenny blurted out unexpectedly. It threw Gibbs off.

"What?" He asked confused.

"You just said anything besides your damn case is stupid!" She exclaimed animatedly. He furrowed his brow.

"I didn't mean for it to upset you that much Jen!" He exclaimed throwing his hands up.

"Oh don't _Jen _me!"

"Fine, _Jenny, _just tell me why it upset you and I'll know for next time!" He explained angrily.

"Are you saying there is going to be a _next time?" _She looked disgusted and horrified at the same time.

"No that's not what I meant…"

"Save it." She said throwing down her napkin and storming out of the small café.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Hope you like it. **

Jenny stormed back into NCIS and saw her niece sitting in the bull pen in Gibbs's desk, that kid definitely had guts. Lily saw her come in and saw the angry look on her face before it was quickly masked so the team wouldn't see her emotions. Lily got up and walked over to her. "Hi." She said causing the other agents to look up at the visitor only to see it was the Director and got back to work.

"Hi." She sighed.

"Where's Gibbs?" Lily asked curiously trying to meet her aunt's gaze but to no avail.

"Um I don't know. Maybe he went down to Abby's lab." She said walking up to her office. Lily followed close behind leaving her new friends in the bull pen. Once they were in her office Lily spoke again.

"Jenny what's wrong?" She asked furrowing her brow. She turned around.

"Nothing's wrong." But Lily knew better and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't try and pull that on me I know better." She said and Jenny sighed.

"It's just something Gibbs said it's not a big deal. Did you talk to Tony though? Are they going to California?" She asked running her hand through her hair tiredly.

"They want to go and work with the NCIS in LA but their waiting on you and Gibbs to approve it." She explained.

"They haven't come to me with anything yet." She said confused.

"Gibbs should be here any minute." Lily said and it was Jenny's turn to put her hands on her hips.

"Well I guess you've got my whole team figured out then?" She asked laughing.

"Oh yeah, every one of them." She said proudly.

"Well you haven't met Ducky yet." Jenny said holding back a laugh.

"Ducky?" She asked confused and suddenly Gibbs walked in the door.

"Our ME." He said and Lily, with a satisfied smile on her face, elegantly held her hand out motioning to Gibbs smugly. Gibbs looked confused and Jenny couldn't help but chuckle.

"Okay fine you win." She said walking up to Lily and whispering in her ear. "But two can play this game." She whispered then spoke normally. "Go back to the bull pen." She shooed her away and Lily left reluctantly and shut the door behind her. Jenny looked back at Gibbs with a smile but it quickly faded as she remembered their conversation in the café. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Yes?"

"We want to go to California to track Barrinelli and his movements." Gibbs said and Jenny pursed her lips thinking.

"Do you think you'll be able to track the money to him?" Gibbs nodded.

"From what we know he's transferred all his money there."

"And you have enough evidence to take him down?" She asked.

"Yeah. All we need to do is find him." Gibbs said shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "We'll start in California and track his whereabouts from there." He said and Jenny nodded.

"Okay. When are you leaving?"

"The redeye flight tonight." He said and Jenny nodded.

"I want to be kept up to date with your progress." She said and he nodded curtly before leaving the room. Lily sat with the team the rest of the day while they finished up on their research of Barrinelli.

"Update." Gibbs said as he walked into the bull pen. Lily jerked up from her casual position in Gibbs's desk and stood up. Gibbs smirked at her and motioned for her to sit back down. She didn't though and went up to the plasma in the middle of the room with the rest of the team.

"I confirmed that all of Barrinelli's money was transferred to Santa Cruz." McGee said.

"He seems to have bought a house there also which is fairly close to the Navy base where he goes every day." Tony said and clicked the slide for Ziva.

"To get into the base he poses as a security guard which gives him access to every room in the building. From there a door in the southwest corner leads to his underground facilities. From the psychological profile Ducky gave me I can conclude that he is somehow using the Navy to his advantage to whatever he is planning to do with the money." Ziva said and Gibbs nodded then left the bull pen again.

"Does he do that a lot?" Lily asked curiously.

"Yes." Ziva responded. Lily laughed.

"He reminds me of this guy my mom used to tell me about." She said absentmindedly.

"Who was the guy?" Tony asked curiously. Between the group a friendly relationship had settled where they felt rather comfortable with each other.

"I don't know. My mom never told me his name but she did say that Jenny used to talk about him a lot and it would drive her crazy." Lily said chuckling and Ziva raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. The MCRT were all thinking the same thing. They knew about Paris. They knew Gibbs and Jenny's history. Lily on the other hand didn't and they weren't about to tell her the details.

At the end of the day the team said goodbye to Lily. They had to go home and pack for the redeye flight that night. Jenny was down saying goodbye to her team too and watched them say goodbye to Lily. "Bye Lily. It was fun." McGee said warmly. She smiled back at him.

"It _was_ fun. Also very exciting at some points." She said hinting at the way the two of them had stolen a candy bar from the snack machine.

_When Lily walked up McGee was complaining and violently shoving a dollar into the slot but it kept spitting it back out. Lily chuckled. "Tim, are you okay?" _

"_Arrgg! Yeah I'm fine. This stupid dollar won't go in." He said shoving it in one more time. She walked up to him with practiced ease and swiftly grabbed the dollar before McGee could when it slid back out of the machine. She waved the crinkled dollar in his face. _

"_It takes finesse Timothy." She said smoothly and straightened out the dollar as best she could. "George needs to be handled with care." She said gently and McGee laughed. _

"_Fine then let's see you try!" She lowered her head at him never breaking eye contact with a telling smirk on her face, accepting the challenge. _

"_Step aside amateur." She said and brushed him away. McGee leaned in to see her do it. Slowly she edges the fairly straightened dollar to the slot and made sure each corner was flattened to perfection. Then she slid it in the slot and heard the whirring as the machine quickly swallowed it and smiled proudly and turned to McGee waiting for his look of shame. But he was looking just as smug as she was and pointed back to the slot. She turned and saw the dollar already lying on the floor where she failed to catch it because she was too busy rubbing her 'success' in McGee's face. The stared at the dollar for a moment before Lily scoffed loudly and kicked the machine. Then she turned to McGee with a mischievous light in her blue eyes. He narrowed his hazel at her. _

"_Lily…" He said warningly dragging out her name. She just smiled and raised an eyebrow. _

"_You up for it Tim?" _

"_No thanks I'll just buy something from the cafeteria." Lily frowned and pulled him back. She needed to reel him in and fast. _

"_Oh come on McGee what are you afraid of? The big bad snack machine police?" She asked mockingly. So that's how they ended up five minutes later with a large bruise on McGee's arm where the machine fell on him and hand full's of snacks. Oh and how could they forget the guard chasing them through the hallway? Lily was screaming in delight and McGee was laughing attracting a lot of unwanted attention. Finally Lily had had enough. She turned around abruptly and dug in her pocket. McGee stopped to watch as Lily pulled out a five dollar bill and threw it at the guard. "That should pay for the food." She yelled over her shoulder as they ran away hoping he didn't follow. He didn't and they ended up giving most of the unwanted ones to Abby. _

McGee snickered and Tony shoved him rudely out of the way before shaking Lily's hand. "It was nice meeting you Lily." He said gracefully.

"You too Tony." She said smiling and he winked at her.

_Tony was bored in the bull pen. He had his head back against his chair and was moaning loudly. Lily and he were the only ones in the bull pen and Lily snickered. He whipped his head up at her and narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?" He asked suspiciously. _

"_Nothing it's just the noises your making." She exclaimed motioning to him. _

"_Is there something wrong with my noises? I'm bored and these are the noises I make when I'm bored." He said explaining himself trying to sound dignified. She raised an eyebrow. McGee was down eating snacks and working on the case with Abby, Ziva was up with the Director and Gibbs was getting coffee. _

"_How about we do something about that boredom?" She suggested and his lips curled into a smirk. _

"_What did you have in mind?" He asked on the same devious page as her. And that's how ten minutes later Ziva was on the floor after her chair mysteriously fell apart and her computer wouldn't fire up because they had unplugged everything. She was furious. _

Lily laughed and watched him walk away. Then Ziva walked up to her and they shook hands. "I had fun today." Ziva said mysteriously and Lily laughed.

"I had fun too Ziva." She said remembering what had happened.

_The two of them had evidence to deliver to Abby. They hopped in the elevator but Lily stopped it half way down. Ziva turned to her with an eyebrow raised. "I think we need to play a trick on Abby." She said mischievously. Ziva snorted. _

"_Why would we trick Abby?" Lily smiled and hit her lightly._

"_Oh come on don't you just love seeing their reactions?" She asked and Ziva couldn't deny that she did. Ziva pressed her lips into a tight line and narrowed her eyes at Lily before shifting her weight around. Lily just watched patiently until she finally gave in._

"_Fine. What are we doing?" she asked smiling and Lily snickered. Finally out of the elevator they heard Abby's music playing and stalked to the entrance to the lab. Abby had her back to the door, perfect. Lily gave the evidence to Ziva and quietly she snuck into the room un-noticed. Their plan was in action. Ziva as quietly as she could using her ninja skills placed the evidence bag and a pen on the metal table behind Abby. Ziva was wearing gloves though so it wouldn't leave any finger prints. Then she slunk back out of the lab and met Lily in the hallway. Then Lily stood up and walked in. _

"_Hey Abby have you seen Gibbs?" she asked confusion on her face. Abby turned around. _

"_Hi Lily. No I haven't seen him yet, why?" She asked happily. _

"_Okay well he took an evidence bag down here and he hasn't come back yet. I was wondering if he was down here." Lily said and watched as Abby looked around shaking her head then her eyes settled on the evidence bag and she gasped. "What?" Lily asked trying her hardest to look confused. _

"_That evidence bag wasn't there before!" She exclaimed pointing at it. "Oh my God I knew it! Gibbs _does_ have super powers!" She exclaimed jumping up and down. _

Then Gibbs walked up to her and they shook hands. "It was nice meeting you Gibbs." She said genuinely. He smiled at her.

"You too kid." He said and pinched her lightly then walked into the elevator with the rest of the team. He stole a glance at Jenny but she was glaring at him obviously remembering the little prank the two of them had played on her earlier.

_Lily had decided to tag along while Gibbs went up to brief Jenny. She stopped him on the stairs. He looked at her curiously. "We need to play a prank on Jenny." She said bluntly. He looked surprised as he raised an eyebrow but went along with it anyway. _

"_Okay what are we doing?" He asked. Once their plan had been formulated they walked up the stairs. Lily had taken her shoes off so she was just in her socks and started dragging her feet along the carpet. Gibbs had trouble holding back his smile. They walked into the office fake arguing. Jenny raised her eyebrows and walked over to them. _

"_What are you two doing?" She had asked innocently. They looked at her then back at each other. _

"_We're just having a little argument." He said brushing it off. She narrowed her eyes at them. _

"_About what?" She asked suspiciously. Before Jenny could react Gibbs pinched her and she squealed jumping back and rubbing her arm. Then before she could say anything Lily stuck her hands on Jenny's head causing an audible crack of electricity to be heard and Jenny yelped. _

"_Ow!" She screamed holding her head and arm. "What the hell was that?!" She demanded furiously. _

"_We were seeing which would hurt more: a pinch or static electricity." Lily supplied and Gibbs chuckled. Jenny punched him. _

"_Jerk." She muttered under her breath as she tried to straighten out her static hair that was sticking up in every direction. _


End file.
